Tuesday, June 20, 2017

How tall was Bill Dickey? How reliable are player heights?

Cliff Blau sent a link to the facebook page of Fritz Peterson, which contained the photo above. The photo was probably taken in either 1936 or 1937 when all four Yankee Hall of Fame players were teammates.

We can't see their feet but Dickey appears to be the tallest. The problem is that their listed heights do not reflect that.

Dickey 6'1"
Gehrig 6'0"
DiMaggio 6'2"
Lazzeri 5'11"

Dickey looks not only taller but larger overall. We cannot see their feet but none appears to be sitting or slouching enough to account for the discrepancies. DiMaggio is supposed to be the tallest. Does he took the tallest?

We expect weight to be inaccurate, especially for a player whose weight fluctuated during his career. See Babe Ruth: 6'2", 215 pounds.